Bumble to Bumble
by Vakarian-TurianSpectre
Summary: Cassandra has found herself caring for a funny yellow Autobot she soon names Bumble Bee after he falls from orbit. He becomes her new best friend when her world crumbles before her. Will he leave again like he had to with the last human he met, or will he stay and protect Cassandra in her time of need. (Bumble Bee turns human fanfic romance)
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1- Falling**

Cassandra hauled her bicycle out of the garage like she did every day. Today she had her work jeans on so she wouldn't dirty her new school clothes on her trail ride. She knew better than to wear anything nice out, as her family was poor, and they could not afford to replace clothes once dirtied like the other families.

Her bike had just been replaced as she had outgrown her old one. It was thick framed with wide wheels to accommodate her regular trail rides. The shiny black bike was adorned with bright yellow accents and a simple home done basket to store her treasures in that she found while she was out.

She peddled down her usual path a few miles out from her home. It was heavily used by other local bicyclists, resulting in her finding the usual dollar bill or various other pocket items. Today she came across something a little different. A small branch laid in her path. Nothing too large, but big enough to toss the unsuspecting cyclist over their bars.

She came to a halt and laid her bike down on the side of the path. It was unusual for her to find anything other than the odd pinecone or nut. The path was cleaned by other cyclists early in the morning, so this branch had to of fallen within the last hour. She knelt down and picked it up; it was still green and covered in fresh spring leaves, there was no reason it should have fallen.

As she went to toss the branch off the trail, a loud cracking of wood erupted behind her. She feared that a tree was falling her way. She turned to see the top of a perfectly healthy tree snap and fall into the forest.

"Holy shit." She whispered to herself in astonishment. The branch she was holding fell from her hands as she stood in awe. The tops of the trees in front her had been taken off by what looked like something falling from the sky. A straight line went through the trees to the bottom of the hill she was looking down. She could see full trees laying down in the distance. Whatever fell was close.

She hopped over the branch and tied her bike to a tree so no one would steal it while she was away. She had no idea how long it would take to get down that hill, let alone get back up it. She had to see what was down there. It could be a once in a lifetime thing, should couldn't miss it. A meteor is just a hunk of rock, but what if it was something else? A plane, maybe someone was hurt. Maybe a satellite fell from orbit.

She was halfway down the hill before she knew it. Her heart was beating out of her chest with excitement and fear. She cleared a fallen tree with a huff. Whatever it was, it sure made a mess. Dirt had been strewn everywhere when the object hit the ground. Clumps where plastered to trees and rocks; they were still falling like snow as she made her way to the bottom of the hill.

A huge mound of dirt came into view as she ran towards the chaos. She climbed the mound with all the might she had left. In front of her was a mile-long chasm carved by the object that had fallen. She breathed deeply as she gauged the walk ahead of her. She had to find out what was at the end of this. She slid down the mound and into the chasm beyond her better judgement. She knew she shouldn't be here. She should go home and call the authorities, but she was just too curious.

Cassandra jogged through the seemingly never-ending chasm. Inch by it grew deeper. Whatever hit the earth was going fast and massive. As she approached the end she slowed to a walk. Light smoke rose from the empty crater left behind. She glanced around. Where was it? It couldn't of just walked away, it fell from the sky! The dirt where the object had rested was charred. Heat radiated from the area; it had to of come from space.

Slowly she climbed out of the hole. It was deeper than her now and it took a few tries before she was able to get a solid grip on the grassy earth above. She hauled herself up and rolled onto her back. A cool breeze blew over her hot skin as she stared up at the clear blue sky. Maybe whatever fell had already been taken.

She laid for a few more moments before sitting up and rubbing her eyes. She had no idea how long she had been following this trail, but it was going to be a long way back. Cassandra stood and eyed the landscape around her, hoping for a clue as to what happened to the object that fell from the sky. Everything looked normal, well, except for the smoking hole in the ground.

A sudden movement in her peripheral vision caused her to jerk sideways to look. Something large moved behind a thicket in the distance. She cocked her head and slowly walked towards it. Was this what fell? She noticed large weeds flattened in patches in the open field she was walking. They seemed to come from the hole and lead to the movement in the woods.

She stopped. Fear overwhelmed her. Did she really want to see what fell? Was it that important? For all she knew, it could be some government experiment gone wrong. If she didn't see, though, regret and wonder would haunt her for her entire life.

She pressed on, slower this time. She didn't want to run up on something and get herself killed. She breathed slowly to control the shaking that ravaged her body. _It's just your imagination_, she thought, _there's nothing here._ Her voice cracked as she tried to speak.

"H-hello?" She looked into the woods. Large bushes and weeds shrouded her view. "Hello?!" She yelled louder. Her investigation seemed to be a failure. _This is stupid, there's nothing here._ _This was such a waste of time. _She looked down at her now ruined clothes. _Mom is going to kill me. _She sighed and turned around. Whatever had been here was long gone.

Branches cracked and crunched behind her as she walked away. _Probably just a deer, _she thought as she tried to ignore her heart beat. A loud thud shook the ground behind her causing her to freeze. Another thud sounded off; it was coming towards her. With shaky breaths she managed to turn around. A large metal figure at least two stories tall stood before her. It felt like time stopped as she stared up at its human like face. Was it, alive?


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 - Maybe it wasn't so bad**

Cassandra and the robot stared at each other for what felt like an eternity. This couldn't be real. Before her stood a bright yellow robot with piercing blue eyes that blinked at her cautiously. What did it want? She glanced around to see if anymore were around. To her relief and dismay, they were alone.

A whoosh of air and hydraulics accompanied the robot's sudden movement. It went down on one knee before her. As the robot drew closer, she drew further away; leaning back until she fell to the ground.

"Don't, please don't hurt me." She scrunched up her face in a way that made her look like she was in pain as she pushed herself back across the grass in a futile attempt to get away. The robot cocked its head at her words and drew away. Could it understand her?

A few beeps and boops along with some radio static erupted from the robot's chest. Cassandra watched in fear as the robot beat its chest and whirred in disappointment. _Is it trying to talk? _Her brain toyed with the idea for a moment while the robot fell to both knees before her. The robot buzzed some more and inched closer to her. This sent Cassandra into a panic. As the robot reached out to touch her, she screamed.

The robot fell back at the sudden high-pitched noise coming from the human. Cassandra scrambled to her feet and tripped into a run. She ran and ran, across the field, up the hill, to her bike; she never looked back. She peddled hard and fast home. Whatever she found was not from this earth. The only time she stopped her bike was to vomit out all the fear that had welled up inside her. She did not turn around or say hello to any of the familiar faces that yelled to her with concern, she went straight home with a look that said she had just met death himself.

With shaking hands, she rolled her bike into the garage. She still didn't look back; if it was following her, she didn't want to know.

"Cassandra!" her mother yelled as she pushed her way into the garage. "Where have you been? What happened to your clothes?" Her mother grabbed her shoulders and spun her around. "You're shaking sweetie, what happened?"

"N-nothing mom, I just hit and branch and went over the bars. I wasn't paying attention."

"Are you alright? You must've fallen hard. You're all scuffed up."

"Yes, mom I'm fine, it threw me into some bushes. The bike is fine, by the way."

"Oh, I'm not worried about the bike." She chuckled "You were just gone for so long; I was getting worried. One of your friends called and said they saw you riding here like a madman covered in dirt. Come on, lets get you inside and cleaned up. I'd better get your clothes in the wash before those stains set it." Cassandras mother pushed her up the stairs and into the house. "Oh my." Said her mother as she tugged at her curly brown locks. "You are going to need a shower young lady; you've got dirt and leaves all through your hair."

After a long, hot shower, Cassandra plopped herself down onto the couch. Their small television was playing one of her little brothers' favorite cartoons; it was part of his Saturday ritual. The smell of rice and chicken flooded the house as their mother cooked away.

"Where did you go Cassie? We were supposed to go to the park today." Her little brother turned during a commercial.

"I'm sorry Lucas," She ruffled his matted curls, he really needed to brush his hair more "something happened, and it escaped my mind. Why don't we go tomorrow?"

"Okay! Just don't get lost again."

"Oh, trust me, I don't plan on it."

"Lucas! Cass! Dinner!" yelled their mother from the kitchen. Lucas scrambled to his feet to grab his food; Cassandra, less hurriedly, followed suit. Their kitchen was probably one of the largest rooms in the house. Her mother loved to cook, and when their father was alive, he did the best to make their mother happy. Their father wasn't actually dead but as far as Cassandra was concerned, he had died a long time ago.

Once everyone got their plates filled, they headed back to the kitchen to watch the nightly news. Monica, Cassandras mother, didn't get out much; watching the news was her nightly ritual to catch up on what was going on in her community. Cassandra and Lucas chatted about a new game he had gotten that week while her mother tuned in.

"Cas?" interrupted her mother. "Isn't that the trail you take?" Monica pointed at the screen.

Cassandra followed her mother's pointed finger to the news flash on the television. Reporters were standing by a mile-long trench with men in yellow suits examining the area in the background. She could see her footprints in the dirt behind the reporter. She coughed as she sucked in a sudden breath of air, causing her chicken to momentarily get stuck in her windpipe; she was frantic.

"Goodness girl!" Her mother patted her on the back as she coughed. Monica's face twisted as the gears turned in her head; she looked at her daughter with suspicion. "Were you there?" Cassandra's face blanked. "Is that why you were covered in dirt?!"

"N-no mom," out came her lie in a stutter "I didn't take that trail today."

"Cassandra Mille Higgins! What were you thinking? You have no idea what would have been down there!" Her mother threw herself onto the couch, furious with her daughters' irresponsible actions.

"Cassie's in trouble! Cassie's in trouble!" Chanted her little brother.

"I'm sorry!" She threw her fork down "There wasn't anything there anyways."

"That doesn't matter!"

"Mom it's fine. I just fell into the hole, once I got out, I left."

"You need to be more careful." Her mother settled back behind her TV tray. "If you see anything suspicious you need to call the police, not go exploring."

"Okay." Sighed Cassandra. She had no immediate intentions of returning to the crash site, but she wanted to know what that thing was that she saw.

As the household wound down for the night, Cassandra's thoughts were plagued by the metal beast that stood above her that morning. Its piercing blue eyes, human like face; it had to be an alien. Humanity was good with robotics, but they had not yet created sentient beings, had they?

"Cassie." Her brother said. He had just beaten a hard boss on the video game he had been playing; he had been working on it all week. Lucas turned to find his sister lost in thought with a blank stare. "Cas." He tried "Cassie!"

"What?" she jumped, looking down at him sitting crossed legged on the floor.

"I beat it!" He pointed at the dead, pixelated monster on the television.

"That's great Lucas, see, I told you, you could do it."

"What's wrong with you?" He cocked his head to the side at her downhearted tone. "You've been acting weird ever since you got home. Did you see an alien? I bet you saw an alien out there!" He scrambled to the couch. "Was it green with big eyes?"

"No-"

"Big pink blob?"

"No-"

"Giant robot!" he stood with his hands in the air

"Wha- NO! There was not an alien, just a bunch of dirt."

"Aww, that's lame." He hopped down and picked up his controller. "A giant robot would have been cool."

"Scary you mean." She laid back down onto the couch.

"So, it was a robot!" Lucas had crawled across the floor and beside her ear before screaming with excitement.

"Gah! Lucas!" She sat up and rubbed her ear "Don't do that! No, there was no robot."

"But you just said!" he whimpered.

"I said it_ would_ have been scary."

Lucas slinked back down to the floor, keeping heavy eye contact with his sister for added effect. "If there's a robot, I'm the first to know."

"Okay weirdo." She chuckled. "I'm going to bed."

Cassandra laid in bed with her eyes wide open; every time she closed them she saw those eyes staring back at her. They rotated like cogs as they concentrated on her. Its eyelids squinted and opened; it examined her like a specimen.

Abruptly, she sat up in bed. She had the image so clear in her head. Hopping up, Cassandra made her way to her desk and grabbed her sketch pad; her hand worked furiously as she drew the eyes that pasted themselves to the back of her eyelids. Two hours had passed before she finished. She was pleased with her rendition; even on paper they looked alive.

The urge to sleep finally overtook her as she slid the drawing into her folder. Drawing the eyes gave her relief: they were no longer stuck in her mind.

As Cassandra closed her eyes to sleep, she saw the robot again. This time, though, the thought did not carry fear. She looked at it in a new light; maybe the creature wasn't so bad.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 – Play Fair**

Her alarm buzzed the next morning; followed by Lucas bursting into the room.

"Cassie!" He jumped on her bed and started jumping around her. "Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" he chanted with each jump. Cassandra groaned as she smacked her alarm. "Wake up!" Lucas jumped to the floor. "We're going to be late to the park!" He watched his sister intently as she sat up and rubbed her eyes.

She trotted over to her closet. "You can't be late to the park."

"I want to get there before the big kids do. They don't let me play." He crossed his arms in a huff.

"What do you mean?" Cassandra sifted through her closet.

"They pushed me off the slide and told me not to come back." His voice fell into a low whimper. Cassandra stopped and looked over at her brother's sulking form.

"Did you go by yourself yesterday?"

"Mom was busy, so I thought I'd take my bike, like you!"

"Lucas, you can't just go places by yourself."

"You do it! Why can't I?"

"Because I'm older than you. If you would've gotten hurt, how would we have known?"

"Yeah," he sighed "you're right."

"C'mon, lets get you to the park."

"But what about the big kids?"

"Don't worry, big sis here will take care of them." She grabbed some clothes and headed off to the bathroom.

Cassandra finished locking their bikes to the rack before following Lucas to the playground. She perched herself upon one of the benches as her little brother found a boy his age to play with. Pulling out her sketchpad, Cassandra started sketching what she could remember of the day before.

Every now and then she looked up from her work to check on her brother before sticking her nose back into her sketchbook. She was working diligently on the scene of utter destruction that she had stumbled upon. Her work stopped when she heard three more bikes roll up. Three boys around her age tossed their bikes to the ground beside the rack and made their way to the playground.

The parents of the little boy Lucas had been playing with pulled their son from the playground as the boys approached. Lucas didn't notice their approach and climbed back onto the playground equipment. Cassandra sat her pencil and pad beside her as she watched the boys climb up where Lucas was playing.

"Hey little man." One of the boys said, "I thought we told you to stay out of our playground?" Lucas flinched. "Do we have to teach you another lesson?" One of the boys jumped behind Lucas from a higher ledge while the third sat in front of the slide opening, blocking all escape routes.

"Well, what are you going to do little man? You've got no where to go." He stepped closer. Lucas began to panic; where was Cassie?

"Hey!" Yelled Cassandra to the back of the boy that impeded Lucas. "Playground rules are twelve and under."

"Hah!" Balked the boy. He turned to Cassandra "Says who?"

"This sign." She pointed at the sign that she had pulled from a pole nearby and quirked her eyebrow before slamming in into the side of his face. He fell onto one of the ledges holding his cheek. The other boys stood in defense. Lucas threw his hands over his mouth in astonishment. Did his sister really do that? After darting his eyes from his sister to the boy and back, he ran behind Cassandra.

"Oh my gosh!" he exclaimed, unable to contain himself. "You just took him out with a sign!" He giggled as the boy exposed the bruise that was quickly forming on his face.

"You can't just do that to our friend without paying for it." The blonde boy from the slide said.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Asked Lucas as Cassandra prepped herself. The blonde boy charged and Cassandra swung; he caught the sign.

"That wasn't very smart of you, was it?" The boy smirked.

"I was just going to say the same to you." Cassandra smiled wickedly. She kicked her foot up hard to hit his groin with a solid thud. His back arched immediately in pain. Lucas cringed in sympathy as the boy fell to the ground. Cassandra firmly planted her foot in the center of his chest when he hit his knees and pushed him to the ground. She glared at the last boy as the one in front of her fell. "You next?" She pointed at him with her sign.

"Uhm." He glanced around frantically. Cassandra chucked the sign as he started to run and thumped him on the back of the head. He fell to the ground but picked himself up soon after. He rubbed the back of his head and looked back at Cassandra who stood watching his every move.

"Now, you get off of my playground." Cassandra asserted herself; no one would bully her brother.

"That was so cool!" yelled Lucas as they walked back to the bench. "I can't believe you took them all out with a sign!" he pranced as he spoke, his arms open wide for emphasis.

"Someone has to show them who's boss." Cassandra picked up her sketch pad. Lucas kept talking and reenacting the scene behind her, oblivious to the world around him.

A familiar whoosh of hydraulics made the hairs on her neck stand on end. The park was shrouded in trees making it hard for her to see where the noise came from.

"Let's go Lucas." She collected herself and eyed the woods. "We should get home just in time for lunch." Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. She shook it off to her imagination after a long moment of silence. She had just spent two hours sketching the robot in question, after all.

"…and she went WHAP! This sign!" Lucas exclaimed to his mother. Cassandra already knew what she was in for. "And then she threw it and hit him in the back of the head! It was funny. Cassie is so cool! She beat them up so fast." He pretended to punch and kick as he exited the kitchen.

"Care to explain?" Her mother turned to her with crossed arms.

"They were going to beat him up, what did you want me to do?" Cassandra exclaimed.

"Not beat them up would've been a start."

"They had already pushed him off the slide yesterday; he left while you were busy."

Monica's arms dropped "He went by himself?"

"Yes, he thought he could be like me and take his bike. I already told him it wasn't okay." She sighed. "I just got so mad; they were kids I knew from school. They bully everyone and when they came after Lucas for no reason other than he was too little to fight back, I just lost it. I didn't hurt them that bad; just some bruises to their pride."

Her mother pinched the bridge of her nose. "Okay." She sighed. "You're off the hook for now. I don't want to see anymore violent behavior from you, understand?"

"Yes, mom." She smiled.

"Now, help me get these sandwiches ready before your brother punches a hole through the couch pillows."

Cassandra laughed as she looked into the living room to see her brother wailing on a pillow much like she did to those boys.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4- No Trespassing**

Weeks had passed since Cassandra had come across the alien in the woods. She had stayed away from the crash site afraid that she might come across it again. Curiosity, though, eventually got the better of her. She headed to her usual trail.

Her tires came to a screeching halt when yellow tape blocked her path.

"No trespassing." Read the sign. She peered into the woods; nothing seemed out of the ordinary. She glanced left, right and behind her. What would a quick check hurt?

Cassandra slipped past the tape leaving her bike behind. She jogged along the dirt path; the crash was pretty far in; it too her a few minutes to reach it.

The trees were still broken in a perfect path; anxiety and relief washed over, she at least knew she wasn't crazy. She glanced around once more before descending. This time she took her time to study the landscape. Each broken tree, each limb she climbed over; she took a mental note.

At the bottom, she viewed the trench. It had rained since that day, washing away and proof of her being there. This time she stepped off to the side to avoid any further incident.

The grass had been flattened where all the men had inspected the area. Cassandra wondered if they knew what caused the path as she walked by. Walking past the end where the robot had been, she found the patch of ripped up grass by the wood line. She remembered it falling to its knees before her; how it shook the Earth. All this time she thought maybe she had been crazy and that the whole thing had been a dream. All this though, it proved her theory entirely wrong. It was real, what she saw was real.

"Hello?" she called into the woods. Maybe it was still out there. "Hello!" Only the wind answered with the sound of ruffling leaves. She sighed; it was gone. She had run away from an alien; she was the first to see it and she ran away. She kicked the dirt; her head down in defeat.

"Well hello." Spoke a man before her. Cassandra jumped. How long had he been standing there?

"I assume you are aware that this is a restricted area?" He pushed the side of his black suit jacket back as he placed a hand on his hip.

"I-uhm.." She froze.

"Were you looking for someone? I only saw the one bike." He peered past her in curiosity.

"No, I just thought I saw something. Must have been the wind." She motioned around as a gust came through the open field.

"Hm." The man scratched the side of his head, ruffling his neatly slicked back hair. "So, what is a young girl like yourself doing here alone? You must have some reason for being here."

"Oh, you know" she laughed nervously "teenagers and no trespassing signs. It's just an invitation."

"Yes, it seems to be common in this area. We found some footprints in the dirt there before anyone even had a chance to investigate." He looked at her sternly. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you? Maybe some friends from school?"

"No sir, I don't have many friends and none of them ride."

"But you ride this trail, don't you?"

"Well yes, but-"

"Did you see anything the day of the crash, Cassandra?"

"How do you know my name?" she took a cautious step back.

"I have my ways, Miss Higgins. Now, do you have anything about what you saw that day to share with me? Anything, no matter how small the detail, will be helpful in our investigation."

"No," she swallowed "I-I don't. I didn't see anything; all I saw was what was on the news."

"I will have you know that keeping information from a federal officer is a punishable offense." He switched what feet held his weight, keeping his hand on his hip.

"I'm going now." She walked past the man in a hurry.

"Cassandra," he called after her "if you decide to do the right thing, do not hesitate to contact me." He held out a small business card. Cassandra side eyed him for a moment before snatching the card. They held eye contact, his hand still out. "I suggest you get going, you don't want to worry your poor mother again."

Cassandra's hands shook as she picked her bike from the ground; how did he know who she was? She eyed the card in her hand. "Sebastian Tate." She whispered to herself. The white sheet of cardstock only contained a name and a number. No identifying marks of what government facility or program he was apart of, no address, just a name and a private number.

She stuffed the card in her pocket and hurried home; she needed to find out who this man was and how he knew so much about her.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 - Tell All**

You've got to be kidding me." Cassandra sat back into the computer chair with visible distress. She had been at the library just shy of three hours searching the name of the operative that had harassed her earlier that day. "How is there nothing?" She angrily scrolled down lists of search results to no avail. Sighing, she picked up the card. This plain white card was going to haunt her. What was she supposed to do?

Outside the building she paced back and forth in front of the public phone. Staring down at the quarters that had started to gather sweat she contemplated what she was about to do. She had no other choice; this was the only way she was going to get answers.

The quarters clunked into the metal box as she slid them into the payment slot. Her whole body shook as she dialed the numbers on the card, careful to not punch the wrong number. She didn't have the money to make a mistake.

"Ah Cassandra." She could hear shifting as if he were settling into a chair. "Have you come across some information for me?"

She hesitated "Maybe, but I want you to tell me if what I saw was real."

"I can assure you Miss Higgins that you are not crazy; but I do need whatever information you have to offer." He was calm, cool and collected; he had obviously done this before.

Cassandra sighed, what other option did she have. She summed up the events which led her to the sighting and what she saw. She made it as quick as possible, so others didn't hear.

"I see," a pen scratched as he wrote down her statement. "have you seen it since that day?"

"No."

"If you see it again you know how to reach me. Thank you, Cassandra, you have been very helpful in our investigation."

The phone clicked off in her ear. Relief and regret washed over her; hopefully she had done the right thing.

Cassandra rode her bike to the park to clear her mind. She grabbed her sketchpad from her backpack and perched herself on some of the playground equipment. No one was there to tell her to move so she sat down and started to sketch. Her mind drifted back to the poor robot she reported and what their plans for it were. It didn't seem like it wanted to harm anyone.

Again, she started to sketch what she could remember of the yellow robot. At this point she had an entire book of the main details she could remember. Its hand reaching towards her, its eyes, the expression as it studied her; she had yet to draw it in its full form, until now. She worked for hours scribbling and erasing to try and perfect the image. She blocked out the world around her; it was just her and the paper.

The popping of gravel and the low hum of an engine engrossed on the playground. Cassandra only looked up when the engine turned off. Through the cracks of the equipment she could see a bright yellow Camaro. It was covered in dirt and the paint was chipping in a few spots. The black stripes that hugged the curvature of the frame were faded from the sun; the car needed some love.

Cassandra started to gather her things. The sun was starting to set anyway; she needed to head home. Her bike was on the other side of the park; the driver probably didn't even know she was there. She dropped her pencil in her bag and closed her sketchpad. Gentle whips and whirs floated her direction; they were somewhat familiar. She peered over to the Camaro as its door opened, she'd better get going.

A metal clunk grabbed her attention. The other door had opened and now, lifted? Electrical whizzes filled the air; her hair stood up on end. Another loud clunk fully grabbed her attention as she watched with wide eyes. The car started to transform.

It stood well above her, just glancing around as a few bits and pieces clicked into place. Her heart raced as she sat up to get a better look. As she went to stand her notepad slipped from her lap. Trying to catch it caused her backpack to crash to a deck below her. The robot whipped around and readied a firearm seemingly out of nowhere; Cassandra's heart dropped. This robot was most definitely not as kind as she had thought. A glowing blue weapon and a bright yellow mask showed that it was ready to kill.

After what seemed like an eternity the robot cocked its head. The weapon transformed back into a hand as it dropped to its side. With a still racing heart Cassandra gathered her bag and started to descend. Her feet hesitated to touch the brown mulch. A mound of mulch moved her direction as the robot shifted.

Cassandra kept her head down as she walked into view. She dropped her things to the ground and raised her hands to show she was harmless. Her whole body shook as the robot shifted again and whirred. The whoosh of it descending caused Cassandra to whip her head up; the robot took a cautious step back. It removed its mask revealing the cautious eyes she knew. Slowly, she put her hands down.

"Hello." She greeted it. It whirred in response. She had been waiting for this moment, now what was she going to say? "What are you?" she yelled up to it. It blindly looked around, then pointed up. "Are-are you an alien?" It nodded once. She didn't know what to think at this point.

It kneeled before her and gently pointed a bulky grey finger at her sketchpad. Slowly she reached down and showed it what she had been working on. Its head turned to the side as it studied the page. It pointed at itself; its bulky finger clunked against its chest.

"Yes, it's you." She flipped a page and showed it more. "I didn't want to forget you."

Gently, it took the book from Cassandra and sat not so gently on the ground. She watched as it studied the page and then compared the image to its body. Whistles and beeps came from the robot; it was a very curious creature.

Her watched beeped "Oh no!" she gasped "Mom is going to kill me!" The robot cocked its head as she frantically grabbed her backpack and started towards her bike. The robot stood and followed her as she climbed onto her bike. "You can't follow me; people can't know you're here." The robot lowered its head with a low whir, it was sad. "I'll come back tomorrow; same time okay?" It nodded. "Okay." She consoled her racing heart.

She sped off. Curfew was soon and she was already going to be in trouble. Screeching to a halt she turned to watch the robot turn back into a beat-up Camaro and drive away; she had to draw that.

She was greeted with crossed arms. "Did you forget about curfew young lady?"

"I got distracted, I'm sorry." She parked her bike in the garage.

"I thought we talked about this?"

"I lost track of time. I was at the park drawing an-" She frantically grabbed her bag. "I left my sketchpad!"

"You can get it tomorrow; Lucas has left plenty of things there and he always gets them back."

"But mom! You don't-"

She cut her off "You're already past curfew, don't push your luck." She walked into the house. "Supper is in the fridge.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 - Found**

Cassandra barely slept that night; she had a date with a robot and possibly lost the most important sketchbook she had ever made. She planned to head out after breakfast so no one could get ahold of it, IF she could make it past her mother.

She was up and ready by the time her alarm went off. She tied her hair back and headed out to the kitchen. Her brother was bouncing wildly on the sofa as her mother downed a cup of coffee. Her mother looked unamused by his early morning shenanigans as she tried not to crack herself in the teeth with her mug.

"Cassie! Cassie!" he huffed, grabbing onto the couch for support. "I'm going to the park with you!"

"What?" Cassie exclaimed with utter astonishment. "Mom!?" she whined.

"You can take your brother to the park with you, you haven't taken him anywhere in the last month. I'm busy and it isn't fair to him to have to be alone or stuck with a babysitter." She took a sip of her coffee once Lucas jumped down. "Go eat your breakfast, there's pancakes on the table." She turned back toward the television to watch the morning news.

Cassie huffed and puffed as she made her way to the kitchen. Lucas covered himself in sticky syrup as he hastily ate. She rolled her eyes and pulled out a chair; grabbing the sticky bottle, she poured syrup over the remaining two pancakes. She forked them into her mouth slowly as she watched Lucas take his excitement out on the house.

He ran around in circles, jumped on and off the couch and ran in and out of the open front door that was letting in the fresh morning air. Pillows, blankets and toys marked a path where Lucas had been. She didn't blame her mother, she needed to clean and she was going to get nowhere with Lucas. Hopefully the robot didn't keep its end of the deal, she didn't know how to explain away a giant robot.

Little did Cassandra know; Sebastian was one step ahead. They had been tracking the robot ever since its landing and the last reading they picked up was at the park. During their investigation a small sketchbook was found and brought to his hotel room. The hadn't known exactly what the robot looked like, only that it had invaded the Earth's atmosphere and it was there job to catch it. Only one person had been recorded saying they knew where the robot was; obviously she knew more than what she was letting on.

Sebastian flipped through the, admittingly, impressive drawings of the suspect. It was not a robot they had seen before, but by the blue colored eyes he knew it would be more cooperative. He enjoyed taking the world destroying robots down, but if they comply, they are urged to bring them in alive.

"This one," he sighed as he slipped the book into a manilla envelope "is going to be a worthy specimen."

Sebastian perched himself on a bench at the back of the playground; the energon meter at his side slowly ticking from the very recent exposure. A quickening in the ticks brought him out of the trance he was in; two bikes approached. He kept to the bench; he knew she would come to him in time, he had her book after all. He began to pretend to look over the pages of the sketchbook.

Cassandra chained up the bikes as Lucas ran to the empty playground. She fumbled with the locks for a moment as her nerves took over. She stood and looked around, no Camaro, good. Now where was her book?

Her eyes scanned the park over. Making sure Lucas wasn't in any impending doom again, she walked over to the opposite side of the park. Bright white pages being held by a black suit caught her attention. They locked eyes and the book slammed shut. The man in the suit beckoned her over with a slight wave of the hand and a crooked smile. Lucas was entirely unawares.

"Why are you here?" Cassandra eyed her sketchpad.

"No thank you?" He picked up and showed her the book.

She stayed silent as he lapped the book once more, his expression going flat. "I am here because I believe a little someone has been withholding some- "He flipped to a page containing a close-up of the robot's face "information."

"I draw that when I first saw it, I have a very good memory." She reached for the book that he snatched away.

"Then you should remember what I told you when we first met." He closed her sketchbook and picked up his ticking meter. "Withholding information is a Federal Offense." He stood and held the meter to her chest; it screamed. "This reads recent Energon exposure from the alien robots and you are making it go off the charts." He sat it back down on the bench. "So, would you like to tell me how long ago you were in contact?"

She swallowed hard "Look, I just want my sketchbook back."

"I don't think I can do that. This is holding some very valuable information, more than words can tell. We know exactly what it looks like now, and that it isn't afraid of humans."

"Who are you? What do you want?"

"I'm part of a very secret organization that keeps people like you safe from other worldly beings."

"Aliens."

"Yes, aliens. What you're keeping from me is putting the entire planet in danger."

She didn't believe a word from his mouth. Yes, aliens were real, obviously, but this robot was not harmful. "Give me back my sketchbook and I'll tell you. I'm sure you have scans of it already, probably even got my fingerprints and what type of pencil lead I used too."

"I'll be in touch." He handed it over, he knew she was bluffing; but she could lead them right to it if he let her go.


End file.
